Five lessons from a weekend where Alabama was lucky it was idle, the Oklahoma-Texas officiating crew put Ed Hochuli to shame and The Big House was again a House of Horrors.1. The Big 12 race will be one wild, wild ride. The conference’s first weekend of Top 25 clashes didn’t disappoint at the Sooners and Longhorns delivered an Instant Classic and Oklahoma State supplied its biggest hit since Mike Gundy’s “I’m a man” tirade in knocking off third-ranked Missouri. Add in Texas Tech’s surviving Nebraska in overtime and it was a big, big day in the Big 12.
It was also a reminder that this title race will be the most compelling in the nation.
The architects of Saturday’s upsets (Texas and Oklahoma State) can revel in knocking off top-three teams for only so long with Big 12 South play just beginning. Texas still has to play Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas, while along with the ‘Horns, the Cowboys also have to play the Red Raiders and Oklahoma. There’s also no counting off the Sooners after one loss against a likely top-three opponent.
What we learned Saturday is that we really haven’t learned anything in the Big 12. So move over, SEC, this is now the conference race we won’t be able to turn away from.
2. Don’t ever doubt Tim Tebow. After Florida’s loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27, the Heisman-winning quarterback took the podium and made the following statement:
"To the fans and everybody of Gator Nation, I'm sorry. Extremely
sorry.
"We wanted an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida has
never done here. I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of
this."You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will
play the rest of the season. You will never see another player push his team as
hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team
play harder than we will the rest of the season.
"God bless."
Add prophet to Tebow’s resume because in thumping No. 4 LSU 51-21, the Gators answered any lingering questions about their inconsistent offense and struggling defense. But most importantly, they also effectively threw themselves back into the national title race and their QB back into the Heisman hunt.
Tebow was 14-of-21 passing for 210 yards and two TDs and ran for another score as the Gators piled up 475 yards on the Tigers, while the Florida defense forced three turnovers and limited Charles Scott and the LSU run game to 80 yards.
A refocused, determined Florida is a tough, tough out.
3. Penn State is the safest bet to reach the national title game. The Señior isn’t too proud to admit he was dead wrong about the Nittany Lions. After a lackluster win over Purdue a week before, I expected PSU to struggle against Wisconsin in Camp Randall. Instead, Penn State cruised to a 48-7 win to move to 7-0 for the first time since 1999.
All that stands between the Lions and a likely spot in the BCS title game is a schedule that includes just one road bump, at Ohio State on Oct. 25 to go along with home games with Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State and a trip to Iowa. That’s no cakewalk, but you have to believe the rest of the list of contenders would take a schedule that includes the Buckeyes as its hardest remaining game.
It’s hard to find a fault in Penn State’s game. The offense is averaging 482 yards per game, while the defense has been just as impressive in giving up 259 ypg and 4.0 per play.
If you’re the betting sort, call Vegas and tell them The Señior sent you.
4. North Carolina made a statement, even if it wasn’t against the “old” Notre Dame. The Tar Heels cracked the Top 25 a week ago and they validated that ranking by pulling off a come-from-behind 29-24 victory over the Irish in Chapel Hill.
This isn’t your daddy’s Irish or even your older siblings Irish, but it’s still the Irish and if you’re Butch Davis, a win over Notre Dame, UNC’s first since 1960, looks better when you walk into a recruit’s living room than victories over Rutgers and UConn.
The Tar Heels’ offense couldn’t find the end zone in the first half as they trailed the Irish 17-9, but behind four second-half turnovers, including Quan Strudivant’s 32-yard interception return for a score, UNC showed Davis’ rebuilding effort is moving in the right direction.
5. Tony Franklin wasn’t the problem with Auburn. How did the Tigers fare in their first game after their first-year offensive coordinator was ceremoniously canned? Auburn had 11 first downs, 193 total yards, including 56 rushing and three interceptions in a 25-22 loss to Arkansas.
Yeah, that was worth it.
It was a tumultuous week for the Tigers and you had to believe that they were going to struggle in the wake of Franklin’s firing. But even the vaunted Auburn defense was horrendous, giving up 416 yards to a 19-point underdog.
Maybe it’s time we start pointing the finger elsewhere for the problem with this team – like in the direction of Tommy Tuberville. Really, in firing Franklin he’s left us no choice. He deemed his O.C. the problem with this team and if there are still troubles after Franklin’s departure, there’s one less person to blame for continuing struggles.
You’d think Tuberville has earned the right to have a rocky season every once in a while and you’d think Auburn would be patient. Of course, you’d think Tubs would have taken the same stance with Franklin.
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